Titan Forest
by titan scientist
Summary: In the wake of a failed mission to retake Wall Maria using Eren's Titan abilities, four of the Survey Corp's best members are left in the Forest of Giant Trees without any means of travel, and time is running out to get back to Wall Rose. Not that it was ever on their side to begin with. [WARNING: Spoilers up to chapter 51 will surface!]
1. Disperse

***squeals* My first, real, actual story! With a plot and everything! YAY!**

**This is going to be something of a romance (LeviHan and some Mikaere) fic mixed into something that explores the world and darkness of the SnK universe.**

**Since I'm really looking to improve my writing, I'm looking for a Beta for this fic! Preferably experienced and brutally honest. If you're interested, PLEASE don't hesitate to PM me :)**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Levi couldn't really feel his limbs anymore. They had long since become masses of throbbing muscle as he relentlessly sped through the forest of giant trees, looking for the one person he was sure probably wouldn't be dead. Or rather, two people.

The Corporal wasn't exactly sure how everything had gone to shit so quickly. One minute, they were all in formation heading towards Wall Maria with Humanity's Last Hope in tow, and the next, Titans were flooding the area and people were disappearing by the handful. Order in the formation was no longer a priority, something that Levi, someone who was so devoted to order and authority, was hard pressed to admit to himself.

He almost wanted to punch himself when he started wishing Erwin were there. If only he hadn't lost his arm trying to retrieve the Titan brat, maybe he could have saved the stupid suicide mission and at least 20% of the Corps could have gone home. The new leader, Frederick Bales, was a good man who knew his politics and his strategizing. However, book smarts were not enough in the field, and many of the Corps members knew that.

Many people had suggested that Humanity's Strongest lead, but this had quickly been shot down, much to Levi's relief.

He wasn't sure he'd be able to lead so many people to their immanent, pathetic deaths.

A familiar, blood-curdling roar broke into Levi's grim thoughts and vibrated through his tired bones, reaching his ears as a reminder of his current goal: find Eren Jaeger and/or Hanji Zoe and retreat back to Wall Rose with said persons, or don't come back at all.

The Corporal supposed that, by the sound of that roar, half of his search was over.

Putting on an extra burst of speed, Levi remained hyper-aware of the fact that his gas was probably going to run out soon and that the supply wagon was so far gone that it was in early stages of figurative decay. This theory was slowly and surely be proven by the incessant whining of his gas containers as he blasted full-speed towards Eren's Titan form.

Along the way, Levi managed to down four 5-meter classes and five 7-meter classes, which, by some strange feeling in his gut, looked suspiciously like some of the members of the failed mission. These kills left his second-to-last pair of blades dull as river stones. Cursing under his breath, Levi let the dull pair break off and quickly reattached a new set, just in time to catch sight of Eren's 15-meter-class shell.

And also just in time for his gas to run out.

"Fuck! Not now, damn it!"

The forest floor was suddenly rushing up to meet him, and his grappling hooks weren't moving from the two huge trees that they had embedded themselves into. The only thing his controls were doing were making clicking noises like empty rifles, and Levi could still see Eren, fighting alone in the clearing just up ahead. His Titan let out another rage-filled roar.

Or, perhaps it was full of fear.

For a second, Levi didn't think anything of the fact that he was most likely plummeting to his death, and instead thought about if Hanji was still alive, because obviously Eren was.

A certain change in gravity broke Levi from his thought, making him aware that his forward momentum towards the ground was starting to slow, and Levi was then aware that he was swinging forward rather than downward. In fact, he was going up a little.

And then he was going backwards.

And then, slowly, he came to an unsteady halt about eight meters above the ground.

Looking to the sides of his gear, his slate-black eyes traveled up the two wires still connected to the trees on either side of him. A strong breeze blasted him in the face, and he started swinging a bit more on his wires.

Though he had been a part of the Survey Corps for longer than almost anybody, and was supposed to be prepared for anything, Levi had never once thought that he would end up swinging from his maneuver gear like a hanging piece of meat in the middle of a giant forest with no gas to propel himself upward and Titans threatening to break through the tree thickets at any moment.

Well, actually, he had to admit to himself that the situation might have crossed his mind when he was in private training to join the Corps.

However, he had not prepared for it, and now he was going to have to either abandon his useless gear and continue on foot, or sit in limbo hoping that the Titan brat wasn't completely out of it and would help him out, however embarrassing that would be.

Considering the fact that an eight meter drop might break one or both of his legs, which were, in fact, very useful, option one wasn't looking very good.

The Eren Titan roared once more at an oncoming wild Titan and not-so-gracefully punted the thing's whole body into the giant trees not more than twenty meters away from Levi's wire trees, crushing and toppling several of the huge plants and letting out huge billows of steam as the wild nine-meter-class tried to right itself.

Option two was officially not an option.

The Wild Titan let out a moan, it's smashed face and chest obscured by regenerative vapor. Slowly, it shakily stood, it's long, chocolate brown hair fluffing up a bit with the humid gas that surrounded it. Eren's Titan didn't make a single move, seemingly forever locked in the unique stance that Annie Leonhardt had taught him so long ago. However, for a moment, Levi could have sworn that he saw it's huge, green eyes flick straight at him before moving to the Wild Titan again - watching, waiting.

Levi had always thought that it's eyes were the most unsettling thing about Eren's Titan form. Even in a compleetely rage-fueled rampage in which the sensible Eren was nowhere to be found, those intense green eyes were just like his human form. It was as if some higher power were possessing him when he went rampant, stealing his form to fool people.

Everything was still for a while as the shifter stared down the Wild Titan, which was still regenerating. It seemed to be a sort of Aberrant, because any normal Titan would charge at an opponent no matter what state it was in.

Another powerful gust of forest air pushed through the clearing and swung Levi on his gear - Humanity's Strongest now just a spectator to a fight between monsters, his absolutely vital weapon, useless.

The steam around the Aberrant slowly lifted, and once it cleared the eyes of both shifter and Corporal faultered in confusion.

The Titan was female.

It's dark brown hair was abnormally long- reaching to the bottom of it's shoulder blades, and hung in thick, wavy sheets around it's head and narrow shoulders. Full lips and a delicate nose adorned it's slightly tan-looking face, and deep mahogany eyes stared back at Eren with lack of focus. In fact, the eyes had a sort of squinting quality to them, the long lashes almost entangling in the process.

Though the Aberrant was female, it didn't have the same deadly and cunning aura that the Female Type Titan, aka Annie Leonhardt, possessed. In fact, it was blatantly clear that this Titan was not sentient.

When it charged at Eren once more, it's steps were very unbalanced and it tripped over a large root in the ground before ever reaching the shifter, who had suddenly become rigid for some reason. As the "female" Titan grappled around on the ground to find it's way again, the shifter's eyes widened in strong emotion. Levi struggled to find out what it was. He was never good at reading people, much less Titans. If only Hanji were there, because clearly Eren was seeing something that the Corporal was not.

However, a moment passed, and Levi's observational skills were no longer tested. The green-eyed Titan was clearly in a state of horror when it's giant maw of teeth opened and struggled to get out it's words.

"**_Han...ji?_**"

* * *

Mikasa had never seen so many corpses in one place, nor so much blood in one field. It was soaking the grass, boiling in the sun, drying and crusting onto the mouths of the hordes of Titans that had, in some form, ambushed the formation.

The flies were already starting to gather, and the smell was unbearable. With every step she took, there was a squelching sound. Every once in a while, the body of a fallen horse was on it's side, a look of primal fear plastered onto it's equine features forever. Mikasa's own horse had disappeared long ago, and she wasn't betting on it's return.

The only thing she was betting on was Eren's survival. She was going to find him, no matter what. She would not be the sole survivor of the 59th expedition. She would make it home with Eren in tow.

The treeline of the giant forest was now before her, immense and towering and intimidating, and the sun hot and blistering on her back. Her hands were so sore from her death grip on her blades, and her feet were so tired of the long, paranoid walk run she had taken to get to the cover of the forest and out of the open terrain of the fields. Hot sweat coated the space between her neck and her now ratty black hair, and her eyes were fighting to stay open in the wake of an exhausting and horrific day outside of the walls.

She wanted to collapse, but a bone shattering roar, a familiar cry of agony and rage, called her into the cool and dangerous forest.

Slowly, Mikasa moved one foot after the other, until she had picked up a jog. Then, with the last of her precious gas, she launched into the cool, haunting shade of the Forest of Giant Trees. The Forest of Titans.

* * *

**So...yea. This will be updated whenever I can get to it, preferably more than less.**

**Also, sorry for the shortness of the first chapter, but I just felt like I needed to leave it like this or it would just keep running on and on and on and on...**

**Don't be afraid to R&R :)**


	2. Rally

**I'm back with the new chapter! Long time no see, huh? :)**

**I just want to say: you guys' feedback was awesome, and it was the main motivation I had to keep my convictions and continue this story. Actual stories with plots and chapters tend to intimidate me a lot (and often don't get finished when I try), but I made it to the second, and hardest (for me) chapter to write. You guys got the ball rolling :)**

**It's probably not the greatest, but I wanted to get it out there to let you guys know that this story is still full-throttle!**

**Without further ado:**

* * *

Levi didn't have time to react to the spoken name before a huge groan and snap of teeth-on-teeth sounded behind him. A rush of wind exploded beneath him, drying the cold sweat on his forehead as he looked down at the Titan who had nearly eaten both of his legs off.

It was a diminutive little monster, a bit too small to be wandering around the forest, as most of the giant forest Titans were at least seven meters. This one was stocky and short, maybe around five meters, and, in a both indignant and horrifying way, reminded the Corporal of his own build, if a lot beefier. And with sandy brown hair and green-ish eyes. Needless to say, Levi had no way to stop it from jumping up and making a snack of him.

Damn it, Jaeger.

His Survey Corps mind raced with all of the things he could do to prevent his seemingly imminent death.

One, he could cut himself free, go jockey-style on the little Titan underneath him and kill it before making a run for Jaeger's legs. Two, he could cut one side of his gear free and hopefully not smash himself or get eaten in an attempt to swing over to the trees he was attached to to find a better perch. Or three, he could jump down, blind the little Titan, and try to steer it towards Jeager or a tree.

Stunning options, all of them.

Another snap was made at Levi's legs, and for a brief moment, he thought he felt something touch his foot. He tried to shift in his swinging position, but the muscles in his legs were already too strained, and the movement sent paralyzing shocks of pain up and down his calves and thighs. It seemed like making a run himself would be mostly impossible. Any movement that he could conjure from his abused legs were be out of pure luck and adrenaline, to which both he was running low on.

A deep, almost frightened rumble came again, and Levi's strained vision focused on Eren's titan once more.

"**Han..ji..**"

Ice seemed to freeze his hot blood in place as Levi had time to fully process what had been said not moments before.

Eren had never been informed on the Ragako Incident, as a result of the situation still being both classfied and quite a mystery - one they had been hoping to solve when they got the Wall Maria and opened the long-awaited basement of one Doctor Grisha Jaeger. Of course, that hadn't happened, and yet, without the doubting and paranoid mind of anyone who _had_ heard the details of the Incident, he still saw Hanji's face in the female Titan before him. His titan form had frozen in shock, and God knew that that had never happened before. The most he had ever been frozen for was mere rage in the moments that his limbs were regenerating during one of his Titan-sized fights. Rage.

This was not rage, and it wasn't fake.

The faces he'd been seeing in the Titans, the creeping feeling of isolation when he had been hunting through the forest, the icy atmosphere that had been surrounding the Ragako Incident for as long as it had been a known happening. The facts all led to this, and Levi, for the first time since he was just a little boy in the streets, felt the claws of desperation scrape slowly up his spine.

Hanji, the one person who he was sure might be able to get out of pretty much any situation that involved Titans, was victim to the most mysterious and horrifying phenominon.

And it was in that moment that Levi felt the driving force of rage, once so suppressed and controlled, break free and drive his blades to the wire that let him loose down onto the little Titan's head.

* * *

Mikasa winced as she jolted to a stop for the thousandth time that day, her injured foot landing promptly on the thick branch and sending jolts up her leg. Apparently, not all of the blood on the battlefield had been other people's. A few tiny blotches of the fluid speckled the area around her boot, just hinting at the trauma she was sure was being hidden in the depths of her boot. Her newfound way of travel wasn't helping it, either. With her gas almost depleted, Mikasa had taken to using her gear to hitch onto nearby branches and swinging across, using a little gas as a boost if the centripetal force wasn't enough. Through this method, she was able to move in a relatively straight line towards the source of the enraged cries.

The thought Armin would be proud of her method made a lump form in her throat. She was abandoning him. He could be dead, and she was heading for Eren.

Mikasa swallowed the lump down and pulled herself back together. It was necessary. Finding Eren would be easier, anyway, what with his rampaging. There hadn't been many Titans her way, either, so maybe Armin was doing okay. After all, she hadn't seen his corpse in the field of the attack. Either way, she needed to get moving, before Titans _did_ start showing up.

With a deep breath and a quick curse at the pain shooting through her foot, Mikasa shifted her weight into a more sturdy stance before squeezing the triggers on her gear. A lurching pull and a distant _thunk _assured her attachment to the branch she had selected, a mere ten meters away. With such a short distance, the Oriental suspected she wouldn't have problems without gas. As soon as she was ready, Mikasa took one last look across the two parallel wires, taut with force, and jumped off of the branch. However, not a split second passed before she felt her left wire loosen and her eyes darted up to her grappling hook.

It was halfway out of the branch with splinters flowering out around it.

A huge jolt of primal panic washed through Mikasa's whole body as she sped faster and faster on the wire and watched as the hook slowly inched it's way out of the damaged hold on the branch. She could only follow with her eyes as the hook suddenly came free and swung loosely downward, bouncing a little against her gear.

With only one wire holding her up, Mikasa was now swinging lop-sidedly towards the trunk of a tree that would probably crush her on impact.

In a quick decision, she leaned back on her gear, going so far as to almost hang upside-down while her two legs stuck out in front of her, bracing for the trunk's impact, which was indeed jarring. She didn't know exactly when she hit, but the force racked her skeleton to the core, and her injured foot screamed and seared in pain. Warm tears sprung up viciously from behind her eyes, and Mikasa grit her teeth to avoid screaming in pain. For a moment, she just hung there, holding onto dear life as her legs still braced against the tree.

Every muscle in her body screeched in rage as she squeezed her left trigger to retract the dangling hook and wire, which, upon hastened closer inspection, was duller than a butter knife at the edges and tip.

Shit.

_Come on, Mikasa...you've got this...Eren's waiting..._

It took more strength than she thought she possessed to lift her left arm from the wire and position it to where she could throw the launching wire over the branch above, where the grapple promptly circled and caught itself.

A secure hold.

Mikasa used gas to help push herself up the wire as she climbed, and she knew that she couldn't go on for at least another ten minutes when she found herself on top of the branch, face down and limbs slightly dangling. For a while, she watched her own blood drip from her boot and down to the forest floor and tried not to fall asleep from sheer exhaustion and wondered whether or not she should take a look at it. It felt horrible, and was currently throbbing like it had its own heartbeat. However, in the end, she ended up leaving it.

She didn't have any medical supplies, and, despite the rumors of he invincibility, she had always been queasy around injuries. Blood freaked her out, though she wouldn't dare to show it in the Survey Corps, but right then, she had a choice to see her own blood and wounds, or...to _not_ do that, and she was taking the liberty of keeping her ration bars in her stomach. Instead, she still watched the tiny drops of scarlet leak from her boot for a while longer.

It wasn't too much longer, though, because only a minute later, a distant battle cry broke the silence of her exhaustion.

* * *

Levi saw the blood splatter before he felt his blades slide into the Titan's eyes. The scarlet flew up into his uniform, splattering and dappling his once pristine shirt and green coat. He landed on the uneven skull of the little Titan with a jarring force, his knees almost buckling before he had the chance to absorb the shock. The Titan screamed a roaring, cornered-animal scream, and Eren's Titan then turned its full attention to Levi's predicament. Not that the Corporal even noticed. He was lost in his rage and drive to just _get to the female Titan_.

Everything in his body was abuzz with newfound adrenaline and strength as Levi climbed expertly down the Titan's neck and on to its right arm where he then swung under and plopped down to the ground. He was running before his boots even touched the soft landing of dead leaves and soil, and he didn't look back.

Levi used to be a street rat. A thug. A thief, and a damn good one too. And any good thief had to be able to run fast, it was a known fact.

So, even though Levi had always been a fast runner, and even faster once he joined the Survey Corps, he didn't think he'd ever actually run so fast as he had when he was running from the little Titan. It was as if he was flying rather than running, and even his exhausted leg muscles, which still burned with ferocity, were cooperating. It wasn't long before he got close enough to Eren's Titan legs to, not for the first, really appreciate how huge fifteen meters was.

One quick glance in the little Titan's direction and Levi also thought grimly about the fact that he would be 'really appreciating' the pain of being eaten alive soon if he didn't get climbing.

Unsheathing his blades, which, by that point, looked almost serrated in their damage, he positioned them at an angle before stabbing them as deep as he could into Eren's ankle, about a foot above his head. The titan shell didn't even notice, and Levi briefly wondered whether or not Eren was completely in there. He would have to rely on his luck that Jaeger could keep himself under control long enough for a climb up to his shoulder, or at least his arm. It would be a long climb, but he had done it on trees before.

With all of his strength, the Corporal hoisted himself up to the stuck blades, his boots taking shaky hold on the protruding ankle joint. His legs shook more than he wanted them to, and his hands were sweating enough to lose some of his grip on the hilt of his swords. It was a struggle to keep from falling just the short distance to the ground as he pulled a hand off to wipe the sweat on his shirt and put it back, followed by a similar motion with the other hand. In another minute, he had planted one blade a good foot and a half above the original position and was reaching to do the same with the other when he caught glimpse of something moving in the corner of his eye.

The little Titan had regained his eyes, and was currently locked in clumsy combat with the female Titan.

Levi held on for all he was worth as Eren started moving straight towards the fight.

* * *

**Mikasa is so freakin' fun to write that I'm tempted to do a story centering only her XD Which, by the way, won't be happening in the near future, sadly enough for me.**

**I, as some of you probably agree, have enough to write before anything new comes out .**

**Don't forget to R&R if you liked it!**

**Until next time :3**


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